Now, Mumbai Police to come up with Elderly Help Desk

In a pilot project, the Mumbai Police will soon have an elderly help desk installed at police stations to address the grievances of the elderly. The active seniors citizens will be members of this group, who will be trained along with a few NGO volunteers to help the elderly.

The minor issues like fetching medicines, paying utility bills can be addressed by the group members, the serious ones including legalities will be referred to Mumbai Police. Right now, Mumbai Police has a helpline only, the Elder Line (1090), to report the incidents related to senior citizens. A recent incident of a 75-year-old woman, Gulabbai Shetty, being strangled to death in her Andheri flat had sent shivers down the spine. Such incidents shed light on the plight of elderly, who are either ignored by their children or stay away from them.

Police will soon start a pilot project at Vile Parle and Malabar Hill police stations, where they will rope in active members of the senior citizens community to act as a bridge between their fellow elders and police. A senior police officer, pleading anonymity, said, “Our aim is to make the elders feel safe and comfortable, which is why we formulated a friendly approach. With existing elder line a cop could help seniors with routine checks, however, sometimes they cannot open up to police in a way they can to their peers, who are probably of same age, going through a similar thing.”

Haribhai Kanojiya, a retired ESIC employee and a Vile Parle resident said, “If the initiative works, it would be great. People like us often need an ear without judgments or risk of getting our kids in trouble.”

Vile Parle and Malabar Hills are two neighbourhoods where many senior citizens stay alone and their children are abroad. After a trial run at the two police stations, the initiative will be rolled out at city police stations, said an officer.